I have often commented on how wireless technology has been somewhat left out in some of the meaningful use discussions and in my thoughts, wireless use could have been added as a “bonus” type situation, not required but more points for those who are using this technology. This study is to compare conventional follow up procedures with various types of wireless monitoring to see if return trips to the hospital can be avoided and if done properly, everyone should win here.

I talk a lot about implementation with devices as that is important as other wise you could very well create a “nag” and turn people off too. UCLA has also been a front runner with “participatory sensing” and I have included information in post in the past on how this works. This is important because if everybody hates it and it doesn’t have an ease of use for all, then the purpose is lost.

The success of course requires involving the patient too as if they don’t like it or want to try, then success may not follow. This study is to see what they like and how it can over come the readmission problems with having information available earlier before a situation turns into an emergency visit, and this study is all about participatory sensing. BD

A UCLA-led consortium of five University of California medical schools, plus Cedars–Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, has received $9.9 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to research the use of wireless and telephone care management to reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.

"Heart failure patients have high rates of hospital readmissions, and a critical window for preventing readmissions is as the patient transitions from the inpatient to outpatient setting," said Dr. Michael Ong, assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the grant's principal investigator. "This project compares two approaches designed to help patients make a smooth transition from inpatient to outpatient care. We will compare whether each approach reduces readmissions among heart failure patients at six different medical centers."

The project will be a three-armed, randomized controlled trial examining the effect of two interventions: managing the transition from inpatient to outpatient care via telephone, and managing the transition from inpatient to outpatient care via wireless remote monitors and telephone. These will be compared to the standard care for heart failure patients.

The award is part of $473 million in AHRQ grants and contracts that support projects to help people make health care decisions based on the best evidence of effectiveness. The funding, announced Sept. 30, covers all of the AHRQ's allocation and $173 million administered for the HHS Secretary by the AHRQ.

Dark Arts of Mathemical Deception

Professor Charlie Siefe of NYU, a mathematician debunks clinical trials, and few other items to where data is spun and fools you, every day example, hear about the perfect butt algorithm and more. These are probably some things you have never thought about but again after listening to what he has to say, it’s time to think about being skeptical. Here’s a radio show that also talks about the same topics.

This video digs in a bit further with how fictitious business models are used by banks and companies do this too. The models are so complex that CEOs don’t even understand them. “Quants, The Alchemists of Wall Street will take you through how “math models” work at banks and financial institutions in a way that even the layman can understand. More videos like over at theAlgo Duping/Killer Algorithm Page. Bank of America will also tell you“IT’ is a business” how they make money.

Weapons of Math Destruction

This is a lecture where Kathy O’Neill, a former Quant who worked for a Hedge Fund (Weapons of Math Destruction) on Wall Street will tell you what is done with your retirement money and more. The banks and companies use technology to take advantage because they can. “Of course we are going to take advantage because our tools are our brains…if they could figure out a way to take advantage of pension funds they would, a good interview with explaining smart money and dumb money.

Algorithms Shape The World

This is a very good presentation done a TED Conference and really was the one that got everyone started thinking about algorithms and today it’s talked about a lot. As he says “if you’re an algorithm, life is looking pretty good, but can’t say the same for humans”. What is a black box? Nobody has any control over the flash crash. We have moved forward a bit but still we are writing the unreadable and lost the sense of some of what is happening. Nice plug for Nanex here with research.